After the singing began, the barrage of comments had already diminished significantly, but there were still a few sporadic messages.
"So this is Xu Qingqiu? I heard she's washed up. Is she just out here to make a quick buck?"
"Who comes on a show to sing a new song? Anyone who didn't know better might think it's a talent show where you need original songs to get votes, but this isn't even original."
Snide remarks filled the screen line by line. Many people had already turned off the barrage in annoyance, although some continued to argue their point.
"Where did you all come from? So annoying! If you like it, listen; if not, just skip it. Who are you trying to disgust here?"
But those people simply ignored her and continued posting.
And the singing had already begun.
"If dreams never plummeted from the cliff in a critical moment"
"How would one ever know that those who are persistent"
"Possess invisible wings"
Gradually, the barrage began to quiet down. Even those individuals who had appeared out of nowhere stopped posting when they saw no one was paying attention.
Everyone watching alone listened silently to the song, and those with friends only occasionally discussed it.
"The Original Dream will surely be reached"
"Only by realizing true longing"
"Can one truly say they've been through heaven"
As the song continued, many people became immersed without realizing it. They seemed to hear in Xu Qingqiu's voice the times she struggled, then her acceptance, and finally, a surge of strength rising from within their hearts.
So what about setbacks? What about difficulties?
If you fall, get up, dust yourself off, and continue on your way with a smile.
Life only moves forward; since there's no turning back, why not cast off the shackles and march lightly into battle?
Crying is one path, laughing is another, so why not stand strong and face the future's winds and rains with a smile?
"She sang so well! I just got scolded by my boss and cried all afternoon. Now that I think about it, it seems kind of funny. I don't even know what I was crying about. What was it for? At worst, I'll just scold him back tomorrow. Who am I afraid of?"
"Sister, your brother supports you! When you get your termination letter, please let me have a look out of pure curiosity."
"..."
Unlike this hapless duo, there were still normal people.
With the end of the song, a variety of inspiring stories populated the barrage—some were from people discussing their family hardships, others were praying to pass their graduate school entrance exams.
In short, with the future unsettled, everyone felt like a dark horse, just shy of shouting, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river!"
The young women in the office, emotional and sensitive, were either reminded of their unpaid salaries or their boss's recent struggles. In any case, they all teared up, crying and wiping their faces.
Chu Tian was different; his mouth was grinning so widely that even his back teeth were visible.
It was impossible to be anything but happy.
While others were watching the show seriously, he had already seen it live. He had listened to this song who knows how many times and had little interest in it now.
What he cared about most at this moment was how many Reputation Points he could get.
And of course, he was very satisfied—extremely satisfied!
Hehehe, so many Reputation Points, fabulous!
Since this song began, his Reputation Points hadn't just increased by one or two at a time, but in increments of dozens, eventually reaching a couple of hundred every second.
By the time the song ended, his accumulated Reputation Points had already reached over 30,000.
This number was already substantial. If he estimated correctly, the system was likely calculating based on the number of viewers. This meant one Reputation Point was added per person.
It was unclear whether a point was given to everyone who listened or just those who liked it. Still, over 30,000 points was already quite a lot, especially since the pilot episode had just been released, and only a minority were actually waiting to watch it the moment it dropped. Most people still have lives and work, don't they?
The real peak wouldn't come until around 8 p.m., and the accumulation would also increase gradually over time.
But this is already quite good. Buying a Sea Blue Essence costs only eighteen thousand, and now with over thirty thousand, I could soon buy two!
Chu Tian was already too impatient. He closed the Reputation Points page and opened the system store.
'Sea Blue Essence': Derived from the blood of deep-sea blue-blooded jellyfish, it has a mild effect on repairing bodily injuries and works wonders on damaged vocal cords.
Price: 18,000 Reputation Points/drop
Eighteen thousand—looking at it this way, it's still pretty cheap.
Clicking happily on the redeem button, a flash of starlight appeared, and then he noticed the page flicker. When he looked again, the upper part of the info remained the same, but the lower part had changed.
'Sea Blue Essence': Derived from the blood of deep-sea blue-blooded jellyfish, it has a mild effect on repairing bodily injuries and works wonders on damaged vocal cords.
Price: 36,000 Reputation Points/drop
Thirty-six thousand? Wait, why the hell did the price go up? Are you sick? System, are you freaking sick? Who the hell doubles the price for a second one? What kind of inhuman operation is this?
Chu Tian was completely numb. If there weren't so many people around, he would have flipped a table.
It wasn't the Reputation Points that he minded, but rather he suddenly realized an unsettling piece of information.
And that was that there was a high chance this product wouldn't cure him completely; it was very likely he would need to keep buying and taking it continuously.
Maybe for a month? A year? Surely not for a lifetime, right? If that's the case, with the price doubling each time, wouldn't it eventually become astronomically expensive? I've never seen anything so ridiculous!
Alas, no matter how much he raged in his mind, the system didn't react at all.
Forget it. I'll take a look at what I bought. Maybe it'll be useful?
With this faint hope, Chu Tian opened his inventory.
A vial the size of a fingernail cap, with 'Sea Blue Essence' carved on it, lay there quietly.
Inside was a round drop of liquid, twinkling with specks of starlight.
It looks quite pretty, but this thing doesn't seem edible, does it? Why does it look more and more like that gold glitter nail polish?
Clicking on the little vial, a description appeared below it.
'Sea Blue Essence: Can repair vocal cords. Use one drop every half month. Specific results depend on the degree of vocal cord damage. Suitable for long-term use.'
He breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw this.
The reason it was only a 'slight' sigh of relief was that, at least, this indicated he wouldn't have to depend on this product for life. It seemed it could fully repair and heal his vocal cords.
But it doesn't say how much I'll need. It just says the effect depends on the degree of vocal cord damage. Doesn't that mean a merely hoarse throat might recover with just one drop? But how much would someone like me, who's completely mute, need? Ten drops? A hundred? A thousand? There's no clear guideline for this, is there?
Sighing helplessly, Chu Tian decided to try it out anyway. What if it works well?
He glanced around, saw that no one was paying attention to him, clicked to extract, and a small blue vial instantly appeared in his hand—it really was fingernail-sized.
When they said 'a drop,' they meant exactly a drop—not a tiny bit more.
With no instructions provided, he carefully pried off the cap with two fingernails and tilted his head back to pour the liquid into his mouth.
Instantly, a cool sensation rushed down his throat, as if he had drunk mint water—cool and refreshing.
Soon, the tearing, burning feeling in his throat disappeared, replaced by a very refreshing sensation that continued to gently massage it.
It was gentle and soothing, without a hint of discomfort.
He tried to make a sound, but there was no difference, which even caused the chubby kid next to him to keep looking over.
Maybe it's slow-acting. Since I've already bought it, I might as well wait and see.